Collin Morikawa thanks Tiger Woods after history-making WGC win: 'Tiger means everything to me'

Tom Gatto

Collin Morikawa thanks Tiger Woods after history-making WGC win: 'Tiger means everything to me' image

Collin Morikawa joined Tiger Woods in exclusive company Sunday on a weekend where the golf world showed its respect for Woods.

Morikawa rolled to a three-stroke victory Sunday at the WGC-Workday Championship at The Concession. He became the second player (after Woods) to win a major and World Golf Championship event before age 25.

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The 2020 PGA Championship winner flashed a broad smile as he was asked in his post-round interview to assess that feat. The 24-year-old voiced his appreciation for Tiger, and then he became emotional. 

"Tiger means everything to me," he said. "And yes, he had the crash and thankfully he's all right and hopefully he has a quick and great recovery. But I don't think we say thank you enough. So I want to say thank you to Tiger, because sometimes you lose people too early. Kobe (Bryant), I lost my grandpa . . . about a month ago, and you don't get to say thank you enough. So, thank you, guys."

Players wore red and black for the final round as a tribute to Woods, who made that color combination his Sunday signature. Woods suffered multiple leg injuries in a single-car crash in California on Tuesday. He has been recovering at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

Tom Gatto

Tom Gatto Photo

Tom Gatto joined The Sporting News as a senior editor in 2000 after 12 years at The Herald-News in Passaic, N.J., where he served in a variety of roles including sports editor, and a brief spell at APBNews.com in New York, where he worked as a syndication editor. He is a 1986 graduate of the University of South Carolina.